Beautiful Reflection

As we say goodbye to 2019, many of us are reflecting on the good and tough times of this year, as well as thinking about what 2020 will hold for us. If you are looking for a passage to pray over and to help you with your reflection, take a read of these powerful words from Micah.
 
"With what shall I come before the Lord
    and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?
⁷ Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
⁸ He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God." - Micah 6:6-8

I believe that if we could live out these 3 qualities in the New Year we would be honouring Jesus with our lives.

Have a Blessed 2020 friends and thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts. 

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Answer me

There is nothing more frustrating that sending a message to someone and not getting a reply! I know that we all have done this sometimes, mostly because we are so busy and we forget to reply or it is not a convenient time to send a message back. However, sometimes we just stubbornly refuse to say anything in response to a message.

This is God's big complaint against the Israelites:

“My people, what have I done to you?
    How have I burdened you? Answer me. 
 I brought you up out of Egypt
    and redeemed you from the land of slavery.
I sent Moses to lead you,
    also Aaron and Miriam." - Micah 6:3-4

They just don't want to answer God's questions?

As we close out another year, let us ask ourselves if we have responded to all that God has asked of us. Have we responded to God's message of love and grace?

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Lifted up

"Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies,    and all your foes will be destroyed." - Micah 5:9

Let us not just remember Jesus as the baby in the manger, but also as the man who had his hands hammered to a Roman cross and who called out "Father, Forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing."

Jesus's hands were lifted up in triumph over sin and death. The last of our great foes (death) is conquered through the birth, life and death of Jesus Christ.

John 3:14 - "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up..."

Living in Grace
D3LM3

I Will

 

Although today's scripture passage seems to be very violent, it struck me that when God promises something He always follows through with his promise. As you read through these verses, notice the "I WILL" parts:

“In that day,” declares the Lord,

“I will destroy your horses from among you
    and demolish your chariots.
¹¹ I will destroy the cities of your land
    and tear down all your strongholds.
¹² I will destroy your witchcraft
    and you will no longer cast spells.
¹³ I will destroy your idols
    and your sacred stones from among you;
you will no longer bow down
    to the work of your hands.
¹⁴ I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles
    when I demolish your cities.
¹⁵ I will take vengeance in anger and wrath
    on the nations that have not obeyed me.” - Micah 5:10-15

As we continue to bask in the glory of the birth of Jesus, remember these words from Matthew's gospel.

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” - Matthew 1:21

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Peace

"And he will be our peace" - Micah 5:5a

Perhaps the most elusive of the four Advent gifts is PEACE. We can experience the other three in small doses during the year - Faith, Hope and Love, but Peace seems to easily slip from our grasp. It is my prayer for each one of us that we would experience Christ this festive season, because ultimately He is our Peace. 

True peace is not some emotion we experience once in a while, but rather a deep seated treasure we can KNOW in our innermost being. And we get to experience this through a person and not from anywhere else.

John 16:33 - “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace."

May Christ be your peace.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

God at work

The miracle of Christmas is not meant to only last for one day of the year. The great truth of the Incarnation is that Jesus continues to be at work in our lives long after the Nativity has been packed away and the Christmas tree taken down.

"He will stand and shepherd his flock
    in the strength of the Lord,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness    will reach to the ends of the earth." - Micah 5:4

Do you notice how this verse speaks of God at work - the Messiah continually his great calling?
Standing.
Shepherding.
Giving Strength.
Helping us to feel Secure.

May the knowledge and love of the Son of God be with you always.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

From humble beginnings

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
    from ancient times.”

³ Therefore Israel will be abandoned
    until the time when she who is in labour bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return    to join the Israelites." - Micah 5:2-3

Our world still glorifies the Big, the Rich, the Powerful, the Rock star. When will we learn that God does his best miracles from the smallest, most obscure and seemingly insignificant of places and people?

Jesus's family lineage is traced back to a small clan in Judah. He was even mocked for coming from Nazareth, yet this is how does his best work - God takes people from humble beginnings and he uses them for his greatest Glory.

Wishing you a BLESSED CHRISTMAS. 

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Remaking

"They don’t know that this is the making of God’s people,
    that they are wheat being threshed, gold being refined. On your feet, Daughter of Zion! Be threshed of chaff, be refined of dross.I’m remaking you into a people invincible." - Micah 4:12-13 (Message)

When Eugene Peterson reflects on this passage he puts a lovely spin on the words of Micah. It gives us a clear indication that Israel's enemies were busy gloating at her demise, while God was busy remaking, remoulding and refining his people. Their opponents may enjoy laughing at Israel's state of disarray, but when God has finished his work, the Israelites will be Invincible.

The story of Christmas reminds us that kings and rulers may have laughed at the birth of a helpless baby boy, especially when others believed him to be a special Saviour, but in the end God's plan was going to be 'the making of his people!' Salvation came in the form of the Son of God.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Understanding God's plans

"But they do not know the Lord’s thoughts
    or understand his plan." - Micah 4:12

Who of us can honestly say we always understand the way God works? Not many of us I think!
The people in Micah's day certainly didn't fully understand what God was doing and when we consider the birth of a tiny baby as God's idea for redemption - well, that seemed totally ridiculous. 

However, we now know a little more about how Jesus' life became the GIFT for all humanity and how God's plan ended up offering salvation to the world. This is the beauty and joy of Christmas.
Indeed, God's ways are not our ways, so we are left to trust in God's plans or to ignore them.

Revelation 15:3 - “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations."

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Rescued

The compassionate heart of God is revealed in these words of Micah:

"You will soon be sent in exile
    to distant Babylon.
But the Lord will rescue you there;    he will redeem you from the grip of your enemies." - Micah 4:10

The prophet doesn't hide from the fact that the Israelites will end up going into exile (due to their rebellion), but God will rescue them from the hands of their enemies. It may confuse us as to why God would allow them to go into exile first, before he rescued them, but God's ways are not our ways, so we need to rest in God's decisions.

The Good News for all of us is that God DOES rescue us and He is willing to redeem anyone who longs to return home.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

No King?

People faulter without proper leadership. This is a fact and is played out in countries, schools, businesses, communities, churches and even in some homes. People need leaders!

"Have you no king to lead you?
Have your wise people all died?" - Micah 4:9

Micah's question arises as a result of the mess that he sees in the nation of Israel. People are living as if they have no king and no wise teachers to lead them. The irony was that they had a King, but they had turned their backs on God.

Remember this Advent season, that we are blessed to have a King - his name is Jesus. He invites us into his kingdom and waits to see our response.

Matthew 2:2 - “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Power restored

Living in South Africa has many challenges and the latest one was dealing with power outages and load-shedding. One could almost hear the collective sigh when the lights went out in your community, as well as the loud cheers when the power was restored.

In chapter 4, Micah speaks about a different kind of restoration. It is the restoration of the kingship and how the 'royal might and power' would come back to the nation.

"As for you, Jerusalem,
    the citadel of God’s people,
your royal might and power
    will come back to you again.
The kingship will be restored
    to my precious Jerusalem." - Micah 4:8

Advent is a time to remember that no matter how dark things are at the present time, the LIGHT of the world has dawned upon us and all good things will be restored in the end.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Peace and Prosperity

"Everyone will live in peace and prosperity,
    enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees,
    for there will be nothing to fear.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    has made this promise!" - Micah 4:4

Even Micah dreamt of a time when war would cease and the people of Israel would get to live in peace and prosperity. It may seem like a tall order in today's political climate and the rumours of upheaval form every corner of the globe, but we should not lose hope of eternal Peace. When God promises something, He will deliver.

Luke 2:14 -“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Come let us adore Him

One of our favourite Christmas carols has to be "O Come all ye faithful", which has the wonderful chorus: "O come let us Adore Him, Christ the Lord." When I read through the words of the prophet Micah today, I thought of this hymn and I wanted to sing out loud "O Come let us adore him."

"Many nations will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
    so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,    the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." - Micah 4:2

As we edge ever closer to Christmas, let us draw near to the temple of the Lord and worship Him. May Jesus teach us his ways, so we can walk in his paths of Life.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Being Reconciled

We tend to forget that God's deepest desire is to reconcile us to himself. God doesn't delight in staying angry with us and nor does he withhold his mercy from any of us.

"Who is a God like you,
    who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
    of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
    but delight to show mercy." - Micah 7:18

Of course, there is also a part we need to play in responding to God's overtures of Grace. When we are reconciled to God, we should also seek to be reconciled to others. As John pointed out - we can't say we love God, whom we haven't seen, when we hate those who live among us (1 John 4).

What does reconciliation mean for you today?

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Watching and waiting

 

Young children are the most enthusiastic at Christmas time and in many ways they keep the miracle of Christmas alive for lots of us. Their constant questions about presents, Santa Claus, reindeer, holidays, food and more presents, keep us unusually busy.

Of course, in responding to the myriad of questions, we should always be willing to remind them of the real reason for Christmas.

“But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,

I wait for God my saviour,

My God will hear me.” – Micah 7:7

Our watching, waiting and hoping is all part of the Advent season. Teaching children (and adults) that all good things come to those who wait is a crucial part of this time of the year. 

As you watch and wait for the miracle of Jesus, may you not be disappointed by the GIFT that he is too you.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Buying Peace

 

"You promise peace for those who give you food,
    but you declare war on those who refuse to feed you." - Micah 3:5

One of Micah's big complaints against the religious leaders was that they were willing to manipulate people into buying peace. The whole idea of this is strange, because Peace can never be bought, but this didn't stop them from trying to squeeze money out of the pockets of the innocents and vulnerable.

In our day and age, is there any difference when you consider how we are bombarded by similar messages - shopping malls, glossy advertisements, catchy sales pitches and promises of happiness come to us all day long. Sadly, we often fall for these false promises, but the sooner we realise that TRUE PEACE can never be bought, the better.

Jesus is our Prince of Peace. 

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Release of new book - Jesus in the Psalms

I am very excited to announce that my new book Jesus in the Psalms will be released on Tuesday 17th December. The book essentially brings together two of my great loves - Jesus Christ and the Psalms. It is in the format of a daily devotional and it takes a look at the first 50 Psalms - with each Psalm covering 1 week.

This is what my friend and mentor, Prof Dion Forster had to say about the book (in the Foreword he wrote for Jesus in the Psalms).

"I am so grateful to Delme for the careful manner in which he leads us into the Psalms as prayers for daily life. As a Pastor and Theologian, he has a particular affinity for both the power of these prayers, and the need that we have for them as we seek to live faithful and fulfilled lives in Christ. I am certain that as you read, reflect, and pray the Psalms in this book, you will encounter God in Christ in new and powerful ways."

I truly am grateful for the privilege of writing and for all of you who bother to read my ramblings. I give God all the praise and glory for this ministry he has called me to.

Living in Grace

D3LM3 

If you want to read more about the book and even pre-order please go to the website and have a look. www.livingingrace.co.za